A.C.T.'s Young Conservatory to Premiere STAYING WILD, 5/29-6/7

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Young Conservatory (YC) Director Craig Slaight will present the world premiere musical, Staying Wild, May 29-June 7, 2014 at The Theater at the Children's Creativity Museum (221 4th Street, San Francisco). With music and lyrics by Creighton Irons and book and additional lyrics by Janet Allard, Staying Wild tells the story of eight teenagers who set out on an outdoor wilderness adventure in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana. When their guide mysteriously disappears and the FBI shows up looking for him, these diverse and seemingly incompatible characters struggle to overcome their biases and personal differences as they embark on a journey of survival and self-discovery. An earthy and passionate score holds them together as they discover their true purpose for being in the wild. The performance schedule for Staying Wild is as follows: Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and are available by calling the A.C.T. Box Office at 415.749.2228 or online at www.act-sf.org.

Says Slaight: "Having become a leading center for developing new dramatic writing for young people over the last twenty-five years, I was keen for the A.C.T. Young Conservatory to expand the scope of our work to include new musical theater. Many young people have to wait for the Broadway factory to funnel down to school adaptations before engaging in a musical theater experience. I'm devoted to challenging our students in the studio and on the stage with the freshest voices writing today. Composer Creighton Irons has brought two previous works to the Young Conservatory - Homefront and Factory Girls. Book writer Janet Allard's work was first seen in the YC after she was a winner of the Young Playwrights Festival at age 16. Allard and Irons have created a thrilling new musical about young people truly finding themselves in the face of struggle, conflict, enlightenment and finally, transformation. I'm thrilled to have this exciting team and their newest work on our stage."

Directed by Domenique Lozano and Craig Slaight, the double-cast production features talented young actors from across the Bay Area. They include Abigail Arora, Kemp Atkinson, Peter Carroll, Nathan Correll, Adam Dolinsky, Christina Euphrat, Elisa Garber, Ben Hawley, Cate Hayman, Zach Hollander, Preston Kerwin-Battaglia, Oliver Klein, Lily Marcheschi, Michaela Marymor, Elvin McRae (guest artist), Emily Mellman, Kelty Morash, Magumi Nakamura, Veronica Ortiz, Peter Scattini, and Josh Schussler.

The creative team for Staying Wild includes Robert K. Rutt (Musical Director) and Christine Mattison (Choreographer and Movement Director).

The A.C.T. Young Conservatory offers a broad range of theater training for young people aged 8 to 19. The ten sessions of classes and eight public productions offered throughout the year are designed to develop talent and creativity, as well as communication and cooperation skills, for young people with all levels of theater background. Working professional actors and directors lead students in a spectrum of classes, including acting, directing, voice and speech, musical theater, audition, and improvisation. Call 415.439.2444 or visit act-sf.org/conservatory for applications and information.

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